Four-wheel drive



A. HEBERT FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5, 924

A. HEBERT FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5 1924lllllllllfilfllllz 0 I IIII Patented Jan. 13, 1925.

UNITED STATES ALEXANDRE HEBERT, OF MONTPELIER, VERMONT.

FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE.

Application filed June 5,

To all whomc't may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDRE HEBERT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Montpelier, in the county of l/Vashington and State ofVermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Four.,

Wheel Drives; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in mechanisms whereby the front aswell as the rear wheels of motor vehicles, may be driven, with the wellknown advantageous results, and the invention relates primarily tosimple, inexpensive and compact means for driving the front wheelswithout interfering with proper steering.

A further object of the invention is to provide a housing for auniversal joint forming one of the wheel driving connections, with aslotthrough which the adj acent-wheel drivingsliaft or spindle passes,and to provide novel means for normally closing this slot, so as toprevent the escape of grease therethrough and to prevent theentrance ofdust and grit.

A further aim of the invention is to provide the front axle with a novelassociation of bearings forcertain driven parts associated therewith.

Still another aim is to provide an improved type of universal jointwhich will operate very smoothly and efficiently.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subjectmatter hereinafter described and claimed, the'description beingsupplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the major portion of an automobilechassis, embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view as indicated by line 22of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale.

Figifre 3 is a plan view partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig.2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing certain parts of the universaljoint.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 5 5 ofFig. 3.

.Figure 6 is a. horizontal sectional view as indicated by line 6-'6 ofFig. 5.

Fi re 7 is a detail vertical section on line -7' of Fig. 51

1924. Serial No. 718,132.

In the drawings above briefly described, which illustrate the preferredform of my invention, the numeral 1 designates a front axle, at the endsof which front wheels 2 are disposed. Novel provision is made at eachend of the axle for driving the wheels 2, and as the construction atone-end is a duplicate of that at the other, the structure at only oneend is shown and described in detail. The axlel is provided with aforked end having a lower arm 3 and an upper arm 4, the latter extendingfirst upwardly and then outwardly, as shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and5. Near its juncture with the axle 1. the upwardly extending portion ofthe fork arm 4 is enlarged as at 5 and provided with an opening, toprovide a hori: zontal bearing whose axis extends longitudinally of theaxle.

The upper side of the axle 1 is provided with a bearing lug 6 which isspaced inwardly from the bearing 5 and may well be secured to the axleby one or more bolts or the like 7 passing for instance through a foot 8with which said lug is provided. This lug is formed with a horizontalbearing 9'in alinement with the bearing 5 and is provided also withanother horizontal bearing 10 at right angles to the axis of saidbearings 5 and 9. Another bearing 11 isdisposed behind the lug 6 and issecured to the axle in any suitable manner. In the present showing, thisbearing is carried by the upper end of an arm 12 which pro ectsrearwardly and upwardly from the axle and is secured to the latter bybolts or the like 13.

A short longitudinal drive shaft 14 is rotatably mounted in the bearings10 and 11, each of which is preferably equipped with bearing balls orrollers 15, said shaft having a beveled gear 16 between said bearings.This gear meshes with another beveled gear 17 between the bearings 5 and9, the last named gear having a hub 18 which is rotatably received inone end of said bearing 5. Similarly received in the other end of thelast named bearing. which end is preferably provided with hearing balls19,

is a hub 20 of a universal joint socket 21 Y which is disposed betweenthe fork arms 3 and 4. A second short shaft 22 passes through thehubs.18 and 9.0 and is keyed to both of them, said shaft passing intothe bearing 19, which bearing is by preference equipped with bearingrollers or balls 23.

) pivoted. at 25, to the fork arms 3 and 4, said through which fork 24being provided witha tubular spinedge of the slot, while the other issimilarly the A wheel-carrying fork 24 has its ends spring is formedwith; a central opening 47 the-shaft 27 passes and it will be seen thatas this shaft is swung fordle 26 upon which the wheel 2 is rotatablywardly or rearwardly, during steering of the mounted. Passing rotatablythrough this machine, the spring will slide upon the spindle, is awheel-driving shaft 27 whose housing, 'at all timessealing the slot 43,outer end 'is connected with the wheel, for It will be seen from Fig. 1that a pair of instance by means of a driving plate 28 havlongitudinalshafts 48 extend from a back ing peripheral teeth 29 received in thereaxle 49, said shafts being driven in any decesses 30 in the wheel hub.The inner end of sired manner from the movable parts withtheshaft 27 isprovided with a ball 31 which in the axle housing. The front ends of theis received in the pocket 21.

50, with the two shafts14, one of said joints gles to the axis of theshaft 27, and isbeing shown in Fig. 3. Sectional casin s 51 formed alsowith a recess 33 from said'bore preferably cover the joints 50, the sha14, to its periphery, said recess being of the the bearings '11, lugs 6,and beveled gears segmental form shown in Fig. 5 and being 16-17, andthese casings may of course conprovided with opposed flat parallelwalls. tain suitable lubricant. A. pivot pin 34 is received inthe..;bore .32 and By providing the novel construction hereis'formedwitha'central opening 35 receivin described and illustrated, a four wheeling'the reduced end 36 of a second pivot pin drive may be provided whichis simple and 37 which is at right angles to the first named compact,yet is very eflicient and in every pin. A flat-sided bearing bushing 38surway desirable, and as excellent results may rounds the pin 37 andengages the flat walls be obtained from the details disclosed,-they ofthe recess 33, and to hold said bushing are preferably followed.However, within and the pin 37 in place, I prefer to use a the scope ofthe invention as claimed, nucap 39 threaded into an opening 40 in themerous minor changes may be made. socket 21, said cap snugly receivingthe I. imii outer end of the pin 37.

It will be seen that the parts 21, 31, 34, 37, an integral fork at itsend whose upper arm 38, etc., constitute a simple, yet an effectiveextends upwardly and then outwardly and universal joint connecting theshafts 22 and is provided in its upwardly extending por- 27, to drivethe latter from the former retion with a horizontal bearing having itsgardless of the angle which may exist beaxis disposed lo g in ly f thefl tween them when steering. The action of a bearing lug on the axleand'spaced inthe joint is very smooth and it does not inwardly from thefork thereof, said lug havterfere with steering in any manner whatingone bearing alined with the first named soever. v bearing-and anotherhearing at right angles A globular housing is provided for the thereto,an arm extending rearwardly from universal joint above described. Thishousthe axle and having a bearing alined with in preferably consists oftwo duplicate said other bearing ofthe lug, a short shaft hives 41 whichmay be secured against op-' mounted in said other bearing of said lugposite sides of the fork arms 3 and 4, by and said bearing of said armand having olts or the like 42. The two sections 41 a bevel gear betweenthe two, asecond short abut each other between the universal joint shaftpassing through the first named bearand the wheel 2 and they are jointlyformed ing and extending into the first mentioned with a slot '43through which the shaft 27 bearing of said lug, a second bevel gear onpasses. Above and below this slot, the secsaid second shaft between thebearings of tions 41 are thickened on their outer sides the latter, ajoint member on said second to provide a pair of parallel guides 44, oneshaft within the aforesaid fork, a second of which is spaced u wardlyfrom the upper fork whose arms are pivoted to the arms of first namedfork, said second fork havspaced downwardly from the lower edge of ing atubular rigidspindle, a wheel mountsaid slot. A one-piece spring extendsed on said spindle, and a driving shaft for over the slot 43 to excludeforeign matter said Wheel passing through the spindle, said and toprevent the leakage of grease theredr'ving shaft having a joint memberconthrough, and the ends of this spring are n cted" with the aforesaidjoint member to slidably received between the upper and be driventhereby. lower guides 44. To retain the spring 45 in 2. In a front wheeldrive, "an axle having proper position between the guides 44 and anintegral fork at its end whose upper arm prevent outward bowing thereofaway from extends upwardly and then outwardly and the universal jointhousing, I

vide vertical bridge straps, 46 which are integral with the housingsections and extend across the outer side of said spring. This tion witha horizontal bearing having its axis disposed longitudinally of theaxle, a bearing lug on the axle and spaced inwardly This ball is shafts48 are connected by universal joints provided with an axial bore 32 atright an- 1. Ina front wheel drive, an axle having prefer to proisprovided in its upwardly extending porfrom the fork thereof, said lughaving one bearing alined with the first named bearing and anotherbearing at right angles thereto, an arm extending rearwardly from theaxle and having a bearing alined with said other bearing of the lug, ashort shaft mounted in said other bearing of said lug and said bearingof said arm and having a bevel gear between the two, a second bevel gearbetween the lug and the first named bearing having a hub extending intoone end of the latter, the two gears being in mesh, a'joiut memberbetween the fork arms having a hub extending into the other end of saidfirst named bearing, a second short shaft on which said hubs 'aresecured, said second shaft having an end rotatably mounted in the firstnamed bearing of said lug, a second fork whose arms are pivoted to thearms of the first named fork, said second fork having a tubular rigidspindle. a wheel mounted on said spindle, and a driving shaft for saidwheel passing through the spindle, said driving shaft having .a jointmember connected with the aforesaid joint member to bedriven thereby.

3. In a front wheel drive, the combination with a forked axle, a drivenuniversal joint between the fork arms, a wheel-carrying fork whose armsare pivoted to the arms of the axle fork, and a driving shaft for thewheel extending from said joint through said wheel-carrying fork; of aglobular housing around said joint formed of two halves secured againstthe front and rear sides of the axle fork respectively, said housinghaving a horizontal slot through which said wheel driving shaft projectsand being outwardly thickened in outwardly spaced relation with theedges of the slot to provide parallel guides, and a curved springextending over said slot and slidably received between said guides, saidspring having an opening through which said wheeldriving shaft passes.

4. A structure as specified in claim 3: together with a pair of bridgestraps.extending transversely across the outer side of said spring andhaving their ends connected to said thickened portions of the housing toretain the spring in place between the guides.

universal joint comprising a shaftcarricd socket having a threadedradial opening, a shaft-carried ball within said socket having an axialbore at right angles to the shaft axis, and a fiat-sided segmentalrecess from said bore to its periphery, a )in passing rotatably throughsaid bore an having a central opening, a second pin at right angles tothe first named pin and having a reduced end received in the openingthereof, said second pin passing through said recess into the centralportion of said threaded opening, a flat-sided bushing around saidsecond pin engaging the flat sides of said recess, and a cap threadedinto said threaded opening and engaging said second pin'to hold the samein place. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto aflixed mysignature.

ALEXANDRE HEBERT.

